10 Golfers Looking For Their First Major Victory in 2023

NOBODY wants to be known as the best golfer never to have won a major. Make no mistake - they are not easy to win. There are only four held every year (five in the women’s game), they attract the best fields in the game and they are played on the toughest courses.

Next year promises to be another exciting one, and we look at the 10 golfers we believe are most likely to be challenging for their first major successes.

Cameron Young

He may well still be looking for his maiden PGA Tour victory but the young American is a class act, with not a single weakness. He surely won’t waste much time winning that first title and it would be no surprise to see him go on to win a major. He already knows what it’s like to be at the sharp end, finishing second in The Open at St Andrews.

Tommy Fleetwood

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Fleetwood has a top pedigree in the majors. Let’s examine the evidence, shall we? He finished second at the US Open in 2018 after producing a sensational final round of 63. It wasn’t quite good enough to catch Brooks Koepka, but it proved he belonged at this level. And in 2019 he was runner-up to Shane Lowry at Portrush. He had a couple of years where he struggled but 2022 saw a return to form, winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge and finishing fourth at The Open.

Will Zalatoris

The stick-thin Zalatoris finally got one monkey off his back when he won the FedEx St Jude in August 2022 to claim his maiden PGA Tour victory. His record in the majors is extraordinary. He has played in 10 of them and missed the cut as an amateur at the 2018 US Open. In his two appearances at The Masters he has finished second and tied sixth. He finished tied eighth at the 2021 US PGA Championship and lost in a playoff to Justin Thomas in 2022. And in his four US Open appearances he has missed two cuts and finished tied sixth and tied second. He withdrew from the 2021 Open and finished tied 28th at St Andrews. Would you bet against him landing his first in 2023?

Sam Burns

Burns is one of the most outstanding young talents on the planet. His first professional victory came on the Web.com Tour in 2018. At the end of that season he gained his PGA Tour card and announced himself with a bang in 2021 when he won the Valspar Championship and Sanderson Farms Championship. He successfully defended the Valspar title in 2022 and added the Charles Schwab Challenge. His best finish in a major is tied 20th at the 2022 US PGA Championship. That record will improve.

Patrick Cantlay

Cantlay has achieved everything there is to achieve in the game apart from one thing - he still hasn’t won a major. He is an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour and enjoyed his best season in 2021, when he won four times and claimed the FedEx Cup. He won twice more in 2022. Cantlay has a happy knack of winning on tough golf courses, but his record in the majors for a player of his ability is abysmal, with just three top-10 finishes. Augusta should be made for his game.

Tyrrell Hatton 

The Englishman is a regular winner on the DP World Tour. He has also won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, one of the most challenging courses in the United States. He has also proved that he can handle links courses by winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. There are some questions over his temperament but Hatton definitely has the game to win a major and should fancy his chances at The Open.

Charley Hull

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Hull has been around so long that it is hard to believe she will not turn 27 until March 2023. She was a teenage prodigy, winning her first LET event in 2014 at the age of 18. She has won twice more on the LET and also has two victories on the LPGA Tour, her most recent coming at the Volunteers of America Classic in October 2022. She doesn’t have a great record in the majors but finished in a tie for third at the 2022 Evian. She is due a first major.

Viktor Hovland

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

One of the most consistent performers on the PGA Tour, Hovland is certain to be a key member of Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team. He has a wonderful temperament, is a great driver of the ball and a wonderful iron player. There is a perception that he is a poor putter, but you don’t achieve what he has if you cannot putt. He has won three times on the PGA Tour and twice on the DP World Tour. His best chance of a major could come at The Open.

Linn Grant

What a year the Swede had in 2022. It should have come as no surprise as she was a wonderful amateur. But not everybody successfully makes the transition. She only turned professional in August 2021, at which time she was ranked as the fourth-best amateur in women’s golf. But nobody could have predicted the season she would have. She won the Joburg Ladies Open, the Belgian Open and the Skate Open. But her greatest achievement was at the Scandinavian Mixed, which she won by nine shots in an event that featured many of the DP World Tour’s top male players. She must surely win a major in 2023.

Xander Schauffele

Schauffele could be the best golfer not to have won a major. He turned pro in 2015 and has won seven times on the PGA Tour. There was something of a drought after his victory in the 2019 Tournament of Champions. He won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in 2021 and in 2022 he won three times on the PGA Tour, including a success at the Scottish Open, jointly-sanctioned with the DP World Tour. He has had nine top-10 finishes in the majors, finishing joint second at both The Masters and The Open. He is too good a player not win a major - and soon.

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